PORTSMOUTH HERALD

Quick tips to help manage common areas

Boards should ‘LEARN’ and never ‘CHEAT’

Robert Ducharme
Robert Ducharme

Not all issues in Condo World need the depth and length of several hundred words to address and explain. As such, here are some shorter issues with quick tips to addressing them.

Despite the advance of technology, as my 10-year-old, technically proficient daughter constantly shows and reminds me, the condominium act has not yet caught up with such rudimentary advances as email, and never mind about Twitter, Skype and whatever comes next. Unfortunately, many boards, especially in smaller condominium associations meet infrequently. However, they may come across issues that need to be addressed, such as a maintenance repair, the hiring of a landscaper, the taking down of a trees, or any of a myriad of decisions that come to a board’s attention in the course of a year. These can be handled quickly and without the formality of a board meeting. Boards can adopt policies to allow for the appearance at board meetings via such tools as Skype, and it can allow for communication between meetings via email. After discussing and voting on how to handle such situations, the board merely has to document what it did, such as by printing out the chain of emails and placing it in the board meeting file. And it would not hurt to then confirm at the next official board meeting all of the actions taken by the board since the last official board meeting.

It is important to note association meetings do not have the same luxury. Association meetings cannot be conducted other than in person, until the legislators catch up with technology and allow virtual meetings.

Common area problems. There are always cases where an association has been found liable as a result of accidents that have occurred on the common area, including pool accidents, poorly maintained roads, blocked sight lines, etc. The best way to prevent problems is to take regular views of the common area and spot problems beforehand and make sure they are repaired. It never hurts to have one or two Board members to walk around the association occasionally. And invite other association members along. Good ideas can come from anywhere, and it helps to remove the boundary between board members and other members of the association.

When I was young, I lived in a condominium with my wife. We had a wonderful neighbor, a tenant who loved flower gardens. She loved them so much that in the short span of one summer water cycle, quarterly billing, she ran up a water bill for the owner of $900. I now realize how lucky we were that the units were individually metered. Many associations are not. As CAI (Common Ground January/February 2014) has pointed out, the lack of individual water metering can cause a problem as, to be frank, there are people who will take advantage of a situation, increasing costs for everyone. Too many associations spend precious hours trying to figure out ways to talk to the person, put controls in place, try to figure out who the high water users are, etc. The associations are few and far between that would pay for everyone’s electricity, but so many pay for everyone’s water. Most municipalities will not install them. (Sadly, they should be required, much like separate electric meters, and if the municipality allows a developer to not put them in, then the municipality should pick up the cost.) But there is nothing to prevent an association (as part of its maintenance budget or a capital program) from installing separate water meters through a proper contractor. Those who complain about the cost will do so because of the cost, but the cost, over time, of paying for the high water users, is much higher than the one-time installation fee.

Finally, boards should LEARN (Listen, Explain and Apply Rules Neutrally) and should never CHEAT (Challenge, Hurt, Evade, Attack or Threaten) their fellow residents and neighbors.

Enjoy the summer in your association. It’s a time for getting outside, even on a small deck, and inviting a neighbor over. Too often unit owners confine themselves to their little world. It’s the antithesis of life in a community association. We live in a communal society. Be a part of it. Enjoy your neighbors. You never know where you’ll find a new friend. Or at least someone to turn to when you need help.

Attorney Robert E. Ducharme is a former teacher whose civil practice is limited to condominium law, primarily in Rockingham and Strafford counties. He can be reached at red@newhampshirecondolaw.com and Ducharme Law, P.L.L.C., found at www.newhampshirecondolaw.com. His column appears bi-weekly.